Addition by subtraction

Have you ever heard of “addition by subtraction?” If you have, how have you used it in your life? If not, what does a phrase like that mean to at first glance? Does it seem backwards? Does it make you wonder what it really means? Well let me explain. When I was introduced to the phrase I was in a very up and down relationship. The bad outweighed the good, but since we at least had good days it is like I overlooked AAAALLLLL the bad. Oh, and yes, I really wanted to be with that person at the time. Well, reality eventually hit me like a ton of bricks. When you overlook so much bad just to make the good more significant it was bound to happen anyway. Well, addition by subtraction was explained to me like this. The moment I decide to subtract that person out of my life, I will add value back to myself. I didn’t quite understand at first, so they explained deeper. They said “sometimes we get involved and wrapped into things or people that deplete us and our worth. A lot of people stay because something about the situation still serves them in a way, but they fail to see the overall big picture. By removing this thing or person, you almost instantly add value back to yourself.” It was crystal clear what I had to do at that point. I said all that to say this. Addition by subtraction is really what it says. You will add back to your life once you remove what is taking value from you. Think about how you can apply this to your life. It can be as easy as subtracting some time you spend on social media to add to your prayer life. Or it can be as deep as cutting off that family member or significant other that always seems to bring negativity into your life. When you disconnect from someone that does not classify them as a “bad person.” It just shows that you two and the environment you both share together is not helping either of you grow. Even if there are good moments here and there. And that is okay. Change for the better is always good. If you have to separate from someone, hopefully they will see the lesson and want to work on themselves as well. I’ll end this by saying what feels like it is taking more from you than it should? Will your life get better if you let it go? Think about it! -Lori G. Clark